Grants a tax deferment for persons sixty-five years of age or over who own and occupy real property in a city having a population of one million or more persons.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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103
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
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Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Aging
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to granting a tax
deferment for persons sixty-five years of age or older who reside in a
city having a population of one million or more persons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 467-l to read as follows:
3 § 467-l. Deferral of real property tax for persons sixty-five years of
4 age or older residing in a city having a population of one million or
5 more persons. 1. (a) Any city of one million or more persons may, by
6 local law, grant a tax deferment for qualifying real property owned and
7 occupied by one or more persons, each of whom is sixty-five years of age
8 or older, or qualifying real property owned and occupied by husband and
9 wife or by siblings, one of whom is sixty-five years of age or older.
10 For purposes of this section, "sibling" shall mean a brother or a
11 sister, whether related through half blood, whole blood or adoption.
12 (b) For the purposes of this section, "qualifying real property" shall
13 mean a one, two or three family residence, a farm dwelling or residen-
14 tial property held in condominium or cooperative form of ownership. If
15 the property is not an eligible type of property, but a portion of the
16 property is partially used by the owner as a primary residence, that
17 portion which is so used shall be entitled to the deferment provided by
18 this section; provided that in no event shall the deferment exceed the
19 assessed value attributable to that portion. The primary residence and
20 occupancy requirement shall be waived if the qualifying person or
21 persons are absent from the property due to medical reasons or institu-
22 tionalization.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03037-01-1
S. 103 2
1 (c) Application for such deferment shall be made annually by the owner
2 or owners of such real property. No application for such deferment shall
3 be granted to any owner with a total income exceeding fifty-eight thou-
4 sand four hundred dollars. For purposes of this section, "income" shall
5 mean the gross income of the owner or owners of such property for the
6 income tax year immediately preceding the date of application for such
7 deferment and shall include social security and retirement benefits,
8 interest, dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital
9 asset which may be offset by a loss from the sale or exchange of a capi-
10 tal asset in the same income tax year, net rental income, earned income
11 from salary or earnings and net income from self-employment, but shall
12 not include a return of capital, gifts or inheritances. The age of each
13 owner of such property shall be the age of such person at the commence-
14 ment of the city's fiscal year for which an application for tax defer-
15 ment is made.
16 2. Such deferment shall equal the total per centum of the deferment
17 base. For purposes of this section, "deferment base" shall mean any
18 increase in real property tax from the tax year immediately preceding
19 the year in which such person reached the age of sixty-five years to the
20 tax year for which an application for tax deferment is made.
21 3. The amount of taxes deferred shall accrue against such person,
22 without interest, and shall, on the date such deferment is granted,
23 constitute a lien against such property in favor of the appropriate
24 municipal corporation. The owner or owners of such property, having
25 received such deferment pursuant to this section, may, at any time,
26 terminate the deferment and remove the resultant lien on said property
27 by paying in full the cumulative amount of such lien.
28 4. A tax deferment granted to a husband and wife pursuant to this
29 section, once granted, shall not be rescinded solely because of the
30 death of the older spouse so long as the surviving spouse is at least
31 sixty-two years of age. In the event that the surviving spouse is less
32 than sixty-two years of age, such surviving spouse shall be eligible for
33 the tax deferment upon reaching sixty-two years of age provided all
34 other eligibility requirements are met.
35 5. Any person who has already attained the age of sixty-five years or
36 older is eligible for such deferral and shall be entitled to a tax
37 deferment based on the tax year immediately preceding the effective date
38 of this section.
39 6. The deferment period will expire when either no eligible person
40 remains in the property, or when the beneficiary of the deferment fails
41 to reapply for such deferment; provided, however, that the municipality
42 must provide a notice sixty days prior to the annual reapplication dead-
43 line via United States Postal Service to the beneficiary's primary resi-
44 dence. Upon the expiration of the deferment period, the municipal corpo-
45 ration may collect upon the lien utilizing its standard procedures for
46 tax liens and tax sales pursuant to chapter three of title eleven of the
47 administrative code of the city of New York.
48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
49 it shall have become a law.
